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Quotes - Engineering - SalesHorizontal U-Tube Heat Exchangers
Supports, Growth and Access
A horizontal shell rests on two saddles. Under temperature it grows lengthwise, and that growth has to be accommodated somewhere. Standard practice is one saddle fixed and one with slotted holes so the shell can slide.
Getting the slots right. Slot length is calculated from the shell material, the temperature range and the distance between saddles. Slots that are too short bind, and a bound shell transmits load straight into the nozzles.
Vent and drain against the real slope. Nozzle placement should reflect how the unit will actually sit, including any deliberate slope for drainage. A drain that is not at the true low point leaves liquid in the shell.
Bundle removal. Leave clear space in line with the shell at least equal to the bundle length. A davit arm mounted on the front head turns bundle removal into a routine operation instead of a crane lift, and it is far cheaper specified with the unit than added later.
Typical Construction
- Orientation: Horizontal on saddle supports
- Support arrangement: One fixed saddle, one sliding with slotted holes
- Slot sizing: Calculated from material, temperature range and saddle spacing
- Vent: High point of the shell in the installed position
- Drain: True low point, allowing for installed slope
- Bundle clearance: At least bundle length in line with the shell
- Davit arm: Recommended where the bundle will be removed periodically
- Lifting lugs: Sized for the assembled unit and for the bundle separately
- Insulation: Allow for jacket thickness at supports and nozzles
- Codes: ASME Section VIII, TEMA R, B or C
Horizontal U-Tube Heat Exchangers
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Tank-Mounted & Immersion
Tank-mounted and immersion U-tube bundles that enter through a manway flange. Heating whole tank contents versus conditioning only what is pumped.
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TEMA U-Tube Types
TEMA U-tube designations explained. BEU, AEU, BKU and DEU differ only in the front head, and that difference decides cost, access and pressure rating.
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The Clearance Conversation
It is worth having at layout stage with the piping designer in the room. The clearance envelope has to be free of pipe racks, cable trays, adjacent equipment and structural steel, and it has to stay free.
Where the plot genuinely will not allow it, say so early. Options exist: a shorter, larger-diameter shell; two smaller units; or a different exchanger type where bundle removal is not the maintenance route.
